A middle-aged emperor, childless, was blessed with a beautiful and pregnant concubine who entered th

Zhou Mingyi naturally looked flattered and overwhelmed, "Your Majesty, I am truly terrified by your kindness..."

The Empress Dowager waved her hand, "Good child, the most important thing for you now is to take good care of your health."

Emperor Qianwu was helpless.

He felt both helpless and a little scared.

His mother was getting old, and he was truly afraid of disappointing her again...

Let her leave this world with regrets.

He knew that Ah Chang couldn't possibly lie to him.

During the days that Ah Chang had been in the palace, Emperor Qianwu had come to know her character and that she was not as flamboyant as Jin Shi.

She is gentle, calm, and insightful; she would never do something like faking a pregnancy to gain favor.

After all, she has no need to fake a pregnancy to win favor.

She was already favored.

But Emperor Qianwu was also afraid. More than ten years ago, after Consort Chen became pregnant, there had been no "news" from the palace for more than ten years.

More than ten years is neither a long nor a short time.

Emperor Qianwu was afraid; such news was just a bubble, easily burst with a gentle touch.

What if the imperial physician misdiagnosed her...? What should be done about the Empress Dowager's deep concern?

"Mother, you should go back to Cining Palace. With you here, Consort Zhen will not be at ease."

The Empress Dowager was displeased upon hearing this. "How can Consort Zhen not feel at ease while I am here?"

"I have given birth before, so I have more experience than those around Consort Zhen."

"With me watching over her, I can react promptly should anything happen to Consort Zhen."

Emperor Qianwu was both amused and exasperated. He planned to stay overnight, but it felt strange if his mother also stayed at Weiyang Palace…

When Consort Chen was pregnant, the Empress Dowager didn't react that strongly...

However, looking back now, when Consort Chen was pregnant, the Empress Dowager was still young, and besides, the Empress Dowager didn't believe that he had really been drugged, so she still held onto hope.

At that time, Consort Chen was pregnant. Although the Empress Dowager bestowed many treasures upon her, she did not personally go to Consort Chen's palace to stay permanently.

Zhou Mingyi lowered her eyes and said nothing.

It's true that her pregnancy was fake.

But what can we do?

Five months ago, this "child" of hers was even more real than a real child.

Therefore, she was not afraid at all.

She knew that the Empress Dowager's request to stay in her palace at this time was probably partly due to her excitement.

She wanted to see the child herself, the birth of her grandchild.

On the other hand, it was also possible that he intended to monitor her.

Zhou Mingyi didn't mind at all.

If the Empress Dowager insists on staying, then she shall stay.

However, if Xie Jinghong could persuade the Empress Dowager to leave, then she would not suffer any loss.

So she was happy to pretend to be gentle and tender.

The Empress Dowager indeed asked Zhou Mingyi, "What does Consort Zhen say?"

"How about I stay in your palace?"

Zhou Mingyi immediately looked apprehensive and said, "I am naturally very grateful, but I am even more apprehensive."

"It is against propriety for Your Majesty, the mother of the nation, to reside in my palace."

"But I know that the Empress Dowager is doing this for the sake of the child that may be in my womb. Her Majesty is kind-hearted, and if I do not accept her, it would seem that I am heartless."

Before Zhou Mingyi could finish speaking, Emperor Qianwu immediately said, "Mother, you're making things difficult for A-Chang again."

The Empress Dowager frowned, unsure of what to say for a moment.

Zhou Mingyi chuckled softly.

"Therefore, Your Majesty is willing to stay, as long as Your Majesty does not find my place too humble."

The Empress Dowager's eyes suddenly lit up, and she became quite pleased with herself.

She raised her chin slightly, looking at her son, while Emperor Qianwu touched his nose...

"See? Even Ah Chang is more reasonable than you."

"Then I will stay in A-Chang's palace!"

The news that the Empress Dowager had moved into Weiyang Palace spread throughout the inner palace in an instant, and the reactions from the women in the inner palace varied.

Inside the Yunmei Palace.

"It is said that the Empress Dowager moved into Weiyang Palace to take care of Consort Zhen."

Lu'er told Yun Meiren the information she had gathered.

Yun Meiren sat before the bronze mirror, her hand movements pausing only slightly. "What do you think of my hairstyle today?"

"Your Majesty is hunting in the hunting grounds, and your mind is probably focused on the wild animals. I'm afraid you have no time to admire my hair."

"But it doesn't matter, I can enjoy it myself, it doesn't matter to others."

"I thought that since Consort Zhen wasn't going to the hunting grounds, my hair would be the most beautiful in the entire area, but who knew... sigh!"

Yun Meiren suddenly turned her head.

"Lu'er, tell me, is Consort Zhen really pregnant, or did she take that medicine?"

Lulu: ...

I wish she knew.

Judging from the Emperor's high regard for Consort Zhen this time, she thought it was unlikely that Consort Zhen had taken any fertility-inducing drugs to become pregnant.

Of course, not necessarily.

Yun Meiren admired her beautiful hair again, "I think that Consort Zhen may really be pregnant."

Lu'er was stunned, feeling extremely envious.

Everyone knows that His Majesty and the Empress Dowager have long suffered from the lack of offspring. If Consort Zhen is truly pregnant, even if it is a princess, she will rise to great heights.

Just like Consort Chen, even if she made a mistake, the worst that could happen was that she would be demoted.

After a while, His Majesty's anger will subside, and with the princess around, he could be reinstated at any time.

Lu'er also wanted her mistress to get pregnant, but now Lu'er has figured it out.

Her beloved's mind was not on His Majesty at all.

She paid even more attention to Consort Zhen than to His Majesty.

Lu'er thought for a moment, then mustered her courage and said, "My beauty, shall we present a congratulatory gift?"

Yun Meiren's gaze suddenly turned cold.

Lulu: ...

Yun Meiren said, "Not a single hair of hers has fallen out, and I'm not happy at all. What's the point of giving her a gift?"

Lulu: ...

"Forget it," Lu'er said, "I'll just give up."

Who told her to follow a master like Yun Meiren?

Her master's mind was not on vying for favor at all; she was focused solely on her beautiful hair.

Although, in the beginning, the master was able to gain favor because of his black hair.

Isn't focusing too much on your hair putting the cart before the horse?

……

Inside Consort Lan's palace.

Consort Lan was somewhat surprised to learn that the Empress Dowager had settled in Weiyang Palace.

"What? Mother is living in Weiyang Palace?"

Is this true?

Prajna: "Your Majesty, Consort Zhen is suspected of being pregnant. The Empress Dowager is truly concerned."

Consort Lan's mood was somewhat inexplicable.

To be honest, I'm a little envious and jealous.

Although she was the Empress Dowager's adopted daughter, the Empress Dowager was still the Empress Dowager. When she became her adopted daughter, the main caregivers were the palace maids around her.

To avoid reminding her of the deceased Princess Chang Le when she saw her, although she was raised in the Empress Dowager's palace, the Empress Dowager did not actually visit her often.

Not to mention moving house specifically for her...

However, if Consort Zhen is indeed pregnant, then the Empress Dowager's actions can be understood.

Consort Lan took a deep breath.

"Go and find the white jade Guanyin statue in my storeroom, clean it thoroughly, and send it to Consort Zhen."

Ruoci couldn't help but ask, "Your Majesty, this white jade Guanyin was personally obtained for you from Hanshan Temple by the Empress Dowager. You just gave it to Consort Zhen like this?"

Consort Lan was silent for a moment, then said, "Wait, before sending it, find out which imperial physician is currently examining Consort Zhen's pulse. Ask that physician to examine her before sending it to Consort Zhen."

Even Prajna fell silent.

"Your Majesty..."

Consort Lan waved her hand, her expression forlorn.

"Now that I'm this old, I couldn't conceive a child when I was younger, and now that I'm older, it's even less likely."

"I have thought this through clearly. Rather than Consort Chen, Consort Zhen is better."

"Consort Zhen is kind and gentle; she is also a friend of mine."

"Her son became the crown prince, and my life has become much easier."

"Unlike Consort Chen, if she were to become pregnant again and give birth to a son for His Majesty, then our situation would truly be difficult!"

Prajna and Ruoci exchanged a glance, both feeling somewhat sad.

They had all followed Consort Lan from the very beginning, so they naturally knew how much Consort Lan loved His Majesty back then.

But Your Majesty, how heartless you are!

Well then, since Her Majesty has thought it through, what can we servants say?

"Yes, I understand."

……

Chang Le Palace.

Consort Chen was stunned for a long time when she heard about this.

"When I was pregnant, the Empress Dowager only came to visit me in person, brought some things, and left."

She looked very forlorn.

"Is it simply because I gave birth to a princess?"

"That vile Consort Zhen, is she really carrying a prince?"

"What if she were still a princess?"

The palace servants in Chang Le Palace looked at each other, none of them daring to speak.

After a long while, when Consort Chen came to her senses, they dared to breathe a sigh of relief.

Consort Chen wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Go to the Cold Palace and tell Consort Rong the good news."

"Now that the palace is so lifeless, I'm starting to miss the days when Consort Rong was here."

In fact, Consort Chen vaguely realized that Consort Rong was on her side.

However, whenever she was pleased with herself, His Majesty would use Consort Rong to suppress her, which made her dislike Consort Rong very much.

Looking back now, it's clear that Consort Rong didn't genuinely intend to oppose her; she was simply going with the flow.

Unlike that vile Consort Zhen, who is so arrogant.

After so much time had passed since Consort Rong's incident, Consort Chen vaguely realized that His Majesty must have already disliked the Xue family for a long time.

That's why they deliberately seized on a minor mistake made by Consort Rong to punish the Xue family.

But Consort Rong's family was powerful, and she refused to believe that the Xue family hadn't left Consort Rong with any backup plan.

Granny Chen and her two trusted maids exchanged a glance, then lowered their heads and said meekly, "Yes, we'll take care of it right away."

……

On the other side, papers were flying everywhere in Consort Liu's palace, a sea of ​​white.

Han Shu and Xue Ying worked resignedly, not thinking about anything else, since they couldn't rely on Liu Zhaoyi in this state anyway.

They might as well hope that when they reach a certain age, they can be granted permission to leave the palace, and perhaps they can make a living with this skill.

Therefore, even though Consort Chen deliberately told Consort Liu about this, Han Shu and Xue Ying didn't even blink.

Consort Chen's methods were not particularly clever; she simply sought out people in the palace to gossip near Consort Liu's palace.

No matter what, Consort Zhen and Consort Chen and her daughter are at odds, but the Empress Dowager and His Majesty still favor the princess more.

The princess even threatened to kill herself, and in order to protect the princess, the Empress Dowager personally issued an imperial edict forbidding Consort Zhen from going hunting.

As a result, Consort Zhen still went, for some reason.

She was diagnosed with pregnancy at the hunting grounds.

The paper in Liu Zhaoyi's hand fell to the ground with a "thud".